The Best Mistake Of My Life
by kimsangeun
Summary: Chu GaEul is having a bad week. She woke up married to the only man in the world she would want to. Unfortunately, this is the same man who spent the last five years trying to not marry her. Between keeping it a secret from her friends, trying to get the marriage annulled, her overactive imagination, and thinking her husband might actually want to stay married, what's a girl to
1. Chapter 1

"Are you sure this is a good idea?"

"Of course it is! Im always right, arent I?"

"Theyre going to be mad when they find out."

"Shut up-no they wont. Theyll be happy, youll see!"

"You're so full of it, you know that?"

"Yeah, but thats why you love me."

****

I wake up reluctantly. The room is spinning, and I've never seen a more evil light coming from outside. It's staring me in the face, taunting me because I'm hung over. I don't think I've ever been this hung over. How much did I have to drink last night? My mind tries to go over the liquor: one glass red wine, two glasses champagne, four, no, five shots tequila...oh boy.

I pull my head off YiJung and looked around the room. The light is still there, the room is still spinning, but I can see a bottle of aspirin on the desk. It's ten feet. I think I can make it. Prying my hands out of his, I sit up. Only to fall back down on him, making him groan. It's apparently too early to get out of bed.

Wait.

Groan?

Him?

CRAP.

YiJung is curled up in bed, and slightly drooling. Trying not to panic, I look around the room and realize it's not actually mine. I'm in his bed, hung over. It's only now that I bother to look at myself. I'm in my underwear, and so is he.

Wow. I've finally done it, and slept with YiJung. If I didn't feel like I was about to throw up all over him, I might have actually been impressed. I've worked so hard to not sleep with the Casanova, and then I just give it all up on a weekend in Vegas. Classy, GaEul. Super classy.

I cant say that Ive never _thought_ of sleeping with YiJung. I mean, look at him. He's gorgeous, and one of the most interesting people I've ever met. But, I was proud to say that I was the only girl who hadn't slept with him. Don't think I'm a prude-I just dont want to waste my time on someone who can't commit, okay?

And the worst part is that I don't remember any of it. I remember eating at the restaurant; everyone was happy. JanDi showed me wedding pictures for the millionth time, as if I wasn't there. YiJung looked over and I tried to talk telepathically to him. He eventually got the message and saved me from wedding terror. I mean, I love Jandi-shes my best friend-but a single girl gets tired of smug married couples, okay? I guess I always thought I'd be married by 25, or at the very least, in a relationship.

Instead, I'm working in a crappy job that I just happen to love with no boyfriend, and no boyfriend prospects. I don't even have a pet. When I get home from school, it's just me, and dramas on TV. Thank God for those.

Which brings me back to the present. What am I going to do now that I'm practically naked and in YiJungs bed? I look around for my clothes, and see them folded up neatly in a chair.

Wait, what? I guess we didn't have crazy-drop-clothes-all-over-the-room-sex. But I can't imagine myself folding them before we did it. Was it that bad? He's always bragged about his supposed skills, but I don't remember a thing. Ah, whatever.

I slowly get out of bed, and stumble over to the chair for my clothes. YiJung and I are going to have to talk about this sooner or later, and if were both still naked there's an 80% chance of a repeat of last night. Hey. Im strong, but when there's a big plate of chocolate cake _with a fork in it_ on the table, mammas going to eat some.

Somehow, I manage to get my clothes back on, take some pills, and was ready to try to make it back to my room when I realize I don't have my key. Getting on all fours, I try looking for it on the ground. No luck. And can I just say that when you feel as terrible as I do, the floor is about the best place to be? I must have been there for ten minutes.

Eventually I figure out that my key is not actually in YiJung's room, so I crawl over to the desk where the phone is, and call to the front desk.

"Good morning Las Vegas!" Great. Ive got Suzy Sunshine on the other end. I really can't handle this right now.

"Hello?" My voice is tired and scratchy-I sound like I've been hit by a truck. Much like I feel.

"What can I help you with?" Let's start with talking quieter, Suzy.

"I've lost my room key."

"That's too bad! But we can get another one to you in just a couple of minutes. What's the name?"

It takes a minute to process the English. I'm too sick to handle another language. "Chu GaEul."

"Excuse me Ms. Chu, but can you spell that?" Ah, I forgot. Americans. They struggle with the simplest of foreign names.

"C-h-u G-a-e-u-l." It's difficult to it get out.

"I'm sorry Ms. Chu, but you've cancelled your room."

"What?"

"You've cancelled your room Ms. Chu."

"I just checked in yesterday."

"Yes, but you cancelled your room last night, and had your things moved into Mr. So's room. Is there anything else I can help you with?"

"Uhhhhh...no."

"Have a great morning Ms. Chu, and just ring if you need anything else." And with that, Suzy Sunshine is gone.

I sit there, pondering over what has just happened. I cancelled my room, and moved in with YiJung? Why would I do that? Was I trying to save money? No-JanDi and JunPyo paid for everyone. Did I just not like the room? Why didn't I just switch to another then?

Did YiJung agree to this? I can't imagine him agreeing to this. I guess we're friends, but it's weird. I wouldn't have agreed to let him stay in my room if he didn't like it. I doubt WooBin or JiHoo would have let him stay in either of their rooms, too.

My fingers tap the phone, the ring clanging against the metal, trying to figure it all out. I may be ill, but my brains are all there! There's got to be some sort of logical explanation for all of this. I know there is.

Wait.

Ring?


	2. Chapter 2

RING?

On my left hand is a big ol' diamond ring. It's pretty, and looks like something I would buy, but it ___definitely_ wasn't there yesterday.

God, ___please_ let there not be a matching ring on YiJung. PLEASE. I haven't asked for much God, and I've tried to live a pious life, so please give me this one thing. I know I don't go to church every week, but I go at least once a month. Okay. Maybe once every two months. But, you know what, God? I'll quit my job, and do your work if you let me have this one tiny thing. Let me be the only person in this room with a ring on.

I cautiously walk over to YiJung, and pull his hand out from under the covers. No ring.

I do a mental happy dance, and thank God before I realize that I've grabbed his right hand. Shoot.

I take a moment before grabbing his other hand. Please let there not be a ring. Please let there not be a ring. Please let there not be a ring. There is a ring.

I look at it. It's equally pretty,...and matches mine perfectly. The rings must have come as a pair. Which would mean that last night, we went and...nope. Can't say it yet. I've still got hope that YiJung will say we went and did something else. Like, just had normal pre-marital sex. I'll be perfectly fine with that now. Just anything but this.

Oh, YiJung! I've got to wake him up!

I try shaking his shoulders, gently. I may have woken up to the cruel, cruel sun, but that doesn't mean I should be as cruel to someone else.

"YiJung,...it's time to get up. It's almost 7:30, and we'll have breakfast soon." There's a faint mumble, but that's it. I try again.

"YiJung...it's GaEul...we really need to talk, and I need you to be sober, okay? Please get up Sunbae." His only response is to grab me, and pull me towards him. Crap. This shouldn't feel as good as it does.

"Sunbae, it's really time to get up. I need you to talk to me." He grumbles and pulls me closer. I contemplate staying next to him. But, that would be bad. YiJung doesn't want domestic, and unless he wakes up, we're going to end up the very definition of domestic.

"YiJung, you need to get up." Another grumble, but at least he cracks one eye open.

"Good morning." He's not quite awake, but enough to grin at me. Ugh, that stupid grin. I love that grin. I wonder if that's what has gotten us into our current predicament.

"How ya feeling?"

"Sleepy. I want to go back to bed." He closes his eyes once more.

"Ya! YiJung!" I hit him with my pillow. What? He's already awake. I'm not being cruel. I'm just helping him be ___more_ awake.

"Hey! Why'd you do that?" He asks, rubbing his head. Oof, I forgot. He's going to be just as hung over as me. I walk over to the desk and grab him a couple pills.

"We've got to talk. Now." YiJung swallows the pills gratefully, and starts to put the pieces together.

"GaEul? What are you doing here?" His voice is groggy and sexy. I make a note to remember sleepy YiJung for the future. After grinning YiJung, sleepy YiJung might be my favorite.

"Apparently, I canceled my room last night, and ended up here."

"Oh ok." He nods, as if canceling my room were the most normal thing in the world. "Wait—why'd you cancel your room?"

We got married. "I don't know."

"Ok." He nods. "What did we do last night? There were drinks...and then..."

We got married. "I'm not too sure either. I was hoping you'd remember."

"Ok." More nodding. "I'll think hard. But first, sleep." His head hits the pillow again, and pulls me towards him. Shoot, this really does feel good. Our bodies fit together like puzzle pieces, and I briefly wonder if that's unique to us, or if this happens with him a lot.

"Hey, YiJung. Before you go back to sleep, there's something you might want to know." He groans, and I know he's listening.

"We might have gotten married last night."

"Kay. Ssh now. Sleep." I stay silent and wait for him to process the information. One. Two. Three. Four. Five. "Married?" Ooh, now his voice is high and squeaky.

"Mmm-hmm." I close my eyes and hope he won't panic too much.

"GaEul? What leads you to that decision?" I hopelessly hold up my left hand. YiJung grabs it and inspects the ring.

"You've got one too." He drops my hand to presumably look at his own. There's a barely audible string of curse words.

"We did this last night?"

"Apparently."

"Did we...?"

"I think so. I woke up in my underwear, and you..." I can feel his grin.

"GaEul? Were you a pervert?" His voice is more playful now, and I relax slightly. He's taking this better than I expected.

"Hm, what Sunbae? I didn't hear you." I close my eyes tighter, and turn my head into the pillow.

"You are ___such_ a pervert GaEul. Araso, we'll talk about this in a little bit." He turns over the other way and falls back to sleep. I quickly do the same.


	3. Chapter 3

"Yah! GaEul! What are you doing here?" I'm woken up sometime later by being poked. Repeatedly.

"Huh?" Sleep was good. I liked sleep. Poking? Not so much.

"You're in my room GaEul. I'm not one to toss a girl out, but..." Wait. Does he not remember? I open my eyes and take a look. He's dressed, thank God. Or, not so thankfully. I wouldn't mind being a pervert just once more.

"GaEul! Are you going to tell me?" Crap. He doesn't remember. Do I really have to go through this conversation again?

"Look at your hand YiJung. Now look at mine. Ring a bell?" He looks and the smile immediately drops off his face. Ah, there we go. He just needed a reminder.

"We're going to have to get this annulled." His voice is suddenly cold.

"But we—"

"GaEul yang! Can't we just pretend we didn't do that? I don't remember it anyways." He scoffs.

"You don't remember us? The great YiJung, Casanova, doesn't remember our night together?" YiJung shrugs sheepishly.

"I make a point not to remember bad sex." WHAT. This earns him a pillow in the face, but he deserves a lot more. Jerk. I'm really good in bed! Or, at least I guess I am. I'm not sure. I haven't had complaints, but there was only one other guy.

"Stop staring off into space, GaEul! We've got things to figure out." Ah, yes. Whoops.

YiJung is pacing the room. "Because we're going to get it annulled, there's no reason to tell anyone. Get it? Don't tell JanDi." What is with him? I think I liked sleepy hung over YiJung infinitely better.

"Yep. No reason." I can't even imagine JanDi's face. Me marrying YiJung. Yikes. That would earn a lecture. No. That would earn a ___series_ of lectures. I can picture her scheduling them once a week for the rest of eternity. 'GaEul, what can you tell me about marrying your best friend's husband's best friend on a whim and how that's a bad idea?'

"I'll try going down to the courthouse to get the documents. Keep your phone on you, got it?" His voice is emotionless, and his tone is clear. I'm just an inconvenience in his life. I'm not worthy to treat with respect—I'm just here to help get the job done. I wish this didn't bother me so much. "With any luck, we'll get this done today." I'm nodding my head, and what did he say?

"Today?"

"Today."

"Now for the only sign. Ring." He holds out his hand. Huh? Why should I give up my ring? He sees my face, and reads my thoughts. "GaEul. I ___bought_ it. Hand it over."

"Ok..." I start pulling on my ring. If this thing wasn't so weird, I might be sad to take it off. It really ___is_ a beautiful ring. It's got these vine engravings on the side leading up to two small sapphires and a diamond in the center.

But for all my efforts, the ring isn't coming off. My finger is apparently too large, or the ring is too small. I'm not sure. Either way, the finger is red and puffy.

"Uh, YiJung? We've got a problem." He looks down and makes a face. I'm not sure if he's amused or if he wants to throttle me.

"Pabo. You've done it the wrong way." He scolds me. "You can't just pull it off—you've got to twist slowly. Watch this." He starts twisting his own ring off. Only to have it get stuck at the joint. HA! Serves him right.

"Shoot."

"What?"

"We're going to both be stuck wearing the rings." Both of us have to wear them? My stomach gets a little knot-the kind when you know something is a bad idea. "The swelling is too much right now. It'll go down in a day or two. So—try to not let anyone see. Keep your hands in your pockets, or something." He mumbles.

Our fingers are a little ridiculous; red, swollen with the skin rubbed raw. The couple fingers to match the couple rings. How we managed to get these on last night, I have no idea. Do they have attendants in America to do that if you're too drunk? And for that matter ___why_ do they let two drunken people get married?

"If JanDi asks about the ring, just make something up. GaEul! Are you listening to me?" Of course I'm listening to you. I always listen. But excuse me while I have an existential crisis over here, YiJung. It's not everyday that a nice, ___normal_ girl from Seoul goes to America on a whim for her best friend's 25th birthday, gets plastered, and wakes up married to the man of her dreams, who happens, by the way, to be completely, entirely, and totally wrong for her, and who has absolutely no desire to be married to her.

Maybe it was the stress of the situation, or maybe it was that I was still hung over, but something about that last thought got to me, and I crumpled to the floor and began to cry.

I'm not taking beautiful Choi JiWoo tears here. You know, the kind that makes the leading man leap over buildings to wipe away the tears with a designer handkerchief. No, I'm not pretty enough for tears like that. My tears come with snot out the nose, hyperventilation and ugly puffy eyes.

And as such, YiJung took one look at me, while I wiped snot on my sleeve, and walked into the bathroom, leaving me on my own.


	4. Chapter 4

I cried for a good long time while YiJung took a shower. I just can't believe I've gotten myself into this situation. And I'm angry that I ___have_ to waste this time on YiJung. Sure, I'm smitten. But he can't commit, and he apparently hates me. So, when this is all over and done, I'm going to treat myself to a pedicure and find a nice new boyfriend. Someone who treats me right. I'm tempted to pat myself on the back. Good plan, GaEul. 'A' for effort.

YiJung steps out of the bathroom, looking like he's ready for a photo shoot. Hair is perfectly styled. The suit tailored and wrinkle-free. Face? Clean shaven. I've got a simple dress on—it's purple, and it's flattering, but compared to him, I look like a mess. Arguh. That's another reason YiJung is wrong for me. He dresses better than I do.

At 10:00 am, we make our entrance in the lobby separately. JanDi, JiHoo and WooBin are already there. JunPyo, however, isn't.

"My stupid husband's late." I felt a pang of jealousy in my chest before I remember that I also had a husband—even if he was a jerk and won't actually be my husband for long. Granted, JanDi doesn't know this, and won't ever know this, but still. I'm now a smug married couple.

"It's alright, JanDi. We don't mind waiting." YiJung is as cool as ever. He's got his hands in his pockets, and he's acting like he went to bed at 8pm last night he's so rested. He's obviously had more experience than I in lying. My idea is to speak as little as possible. If I don't talk, I can't give us away. Which naturally means that the plan will go to hell in about 10 seconds.

"GaEul, where were you this morning? I tried calling your room, but you didn't answer..." JanDi pushes her face up into mine. She thinks it's cute, and I think she's too old for that.

"Ugh..." Crap. I knew I couldn't do this. "I was...sleeping. Heavily. Alone. Booze. Tired. All alone. Vegas. Food?" Shiiiiiiite. That was awful. My eyes impulsively dart to YiJung and he looks like he's enjoying every minute of this, the bastard. I knew he was thinking I was really bad at this.

"Okay..." JanDi looks doubtful, but thankfully she leaves it alone.

"So, what's the plan for today?" JunPyo, yes! He always knows the best time to make an entrance.

"Ya! Gu JunPyo! Could you have been ___any_ slower?" JanDi hits her husband. "We almost died, we were so bored!"

"Sorry." I'm not. You couldn't have come at a better time, JunPyo.

"Well, I was thinking of going gambling." WooBin says.

"I'm going to find a nice place to read." Of course you are, JiHoo.

"I've got a couple errands to run in town. Shouldn't take too long, and then I'll join you, WooBin?" YiJung looks to the door, as if merely standing here was wasting his time. WooBin nods his agreement.

"GaEul, and I are going shopping, right?" Shopping? In LasVegas? I knew I loved you JanDi.

"In that case, I'm going with you." JunPyo wraps his arms around this wife, only to be hit again.

"No! Go gambling! This is our girl day! We'll see you later." And with that, she storms off, grabbing me by the wrists. Poor JunPyo is left standing in the lobby, dumbfounded.

We quickly catch a taxi and head to the shops. Everything in this city is neon colored, and loud—I'm not sure what kinds of clothes await us. They should be beautiful...and expensive.

JanDi leads us into one shoe store, only to be astonished by the price tags. Did she not think it would be more expensive in America than in Korea? She was all set to leave when I reminded her that she married one of the world's richest men. I ___think_ she can afford a pair of $2000 Louboutins. She reluctantly bought one pair, and then decided she wanted to go someplace more our style and price.

God bless my best friend. Sure, she's smugly married, but she knows where she came from, and I don't think she'll ever forget it. I'm sure she sits at home in her mansion and clips coupons to use at the grocery store.

We ended up at a small mall outside of Vegas, and began shopping. These stores don't have silks, and cashmeres, but the clothes were nicely styled. Plenty of them would be wearable to work. I was thumbing my way through the rack, trying to find my size when JanDi noticed. Crap.

"Yah, GaEul. What's on your hand?"

"Hm? What?" I try to think of a distraction, but JanDi is too quick.

"The ring."

"Ring? Do you mean the one on the mannequin?" I point the other way before JanDi grabs my hand and waves it in my face.

"This one."

"Oh—that ring. I...bought it...?" No way in heck was this convincing.

"Yah! GaEul! Don't lie to me." Sigh.

"Okay, okay. I was goofing off the other day with Sunbae, and I tried on the ring at a store. It got stuck, so he decided to just buy it. We're going to return it as soon as my finger stops swelling. It was just too embarrassing to tell, okay? Sheesh." JanDi looks at me skeptically. She was thinking over the answer.

She ended up laughing in my face.

"Only you GaEul would get such a ring stuck on your finger. At least it's pretty, right? Phew. You had me worried for a minute. I was afraid you were going to say you were engaged!" I can't believe I got away with the lie. Curse you YiJung! I must have caught your lying ability!

I nervously laugh. "Yeah, me and YiJung. Engaged! Great joke JanDi." She looks at me blankly.

"YiJung? Why would you be engaged to YiJung? I was thinking it was the teacher at your school." Teacher at my school? Who was she talking a-Oh, Han TaeSoong.

Han TaeSoong is the fifth grade teacher two rooms down from me. He is middle-aged, never been married, and I'm sure he goes home each night to go on CyberWorld and play video games. My life might be sad, but his is worse. And from the day I started working at the school, he seemed determined to win me over. Which was weird because he also doesn't have much in the way of social skills. I'm not sure how many times I walked into my classroom to find some sort of awkward gift—a single movie ticket, homemade jam, a live fish to cook with. They were all sweet, but slightly off. How could JanDi think I'd agree to marry him?!

"Han TaeSoong? JanDi, you're kidding me, right?"

"I just wanted to make sure you didn't do something crazy!" She smiles and goes back to looking at the clothes. At least she didn't ask my why I thought I was engaged to YiJung.

I was just about to go try on a new dress when I got a text message. Who knew three words could strike so much fear in my heart?

"Can't get annulled."


	5. Chapter 5

Can't get annulled? Can't get annulled? WHY? Did he tell them we—No! He wouldn't say that! Then, why can't it be done? And why on Earth did he send that as a ___text_message? You just don't ___do_ that! If YiJung thinks he's going to get away with this, he's got another thing coming to him!

I ask him why, and get a response from him a few minutes later. "Takes too long." Takes too long? ARGUH. He ___said_ it could be done today! Stupid YiJung. That's it. I'm calling him. I need to vent.

I manage to wrangle free of JanDi to call. "What do you mean it takes too long?!"

"It takes a week to process the paperwork in America."

"A week?!"

"Plus, we have to make a copy of the wedding certificate, which I haven't seen."

"Wedding certifi—"

"We'll just do it when we get back. We'll be married two weeks. Tops."

"Yah—YiJung. I can't ___wait_ two weeks. I've got my own life!"

"Pretty busy with watching TV dramas, eh GaEul?" Watching dramas? This man is infuriating!

"I've got plenty of other things, too!"

"Sure, you do. Busy with two men, Ben and Jerry, right?" How could he say that?! I don't even ___like_ ice cream! ...That much.

"I'm hanging up now."

"GaEul! It's a joke! Sheesh. Don't be so uptight. Anyways. Find the certificate when you get back."

"Why me?!"

"Because I've got other things to do." And with that, he hangs up.

UGH. He hasn't changed at all, YiJung. He's still the same jerk I knew in high school, and if he hasn't changed by now, he never will. Just one more reason to find that nice new boyfriend. Hmm...let's call him Steve. Steve will be perfect in every single way. He will be handsome, kind, a great cook, thoughtful, and he will have a nice___normal_ job that has nothing to do with pottery.

My thoughts are disrupted by the reappearance of JanDi. "There you are! I've been trying to find you for the last ten minutes!"

"Sorry. I got a phone call, and didn't want to bother you."

"Oh ok. You ready to go?" In her arms is another bag of clothes. I wonder how she's going to get it all home.

"Let me go buy this dress, and I'll be right there." I run off and quickly pay for my purchase. I never actually tried it on, but eh. It's cute, I'm cute, so it can't look that bad, right? Besides, it's only $30 US Dollars. That's cheap. I think. I'm not bad at math, but currency conversion has always been a struggle for me.

We decide to grab a quick lunch before heading back to the hotel. It was pleasant enough, but I don't think JanDi and I are cut out for American food. Everything is just so...big. And heavy. I want my porridge. I can eat a big bowl of that, and be fine for the day. But here, you order a sandwich, and you get the entire loaf of bread. Plus chips. And French fries. And a cookie. And soda to top it all off. Who can eat that much?

Back at the hotel I'm stopped by one of the bell hoppers. "Mrs. So, can you stop by the front desk please?" Mrs. So? That's not my name. My pulse quickens while I look nervously over at JanDi.

"Mrs. So? I'm sorry. You've got the wrong name. This is Chu GaEul." JanDi informs him, helpfully. The bell hopper, however, is more persistent.

"I was told you were Mrs. So. Would you mind stopping at the front desk, please?"

"Yah. That's not her name!" Crap. JanDi is getting worked up. If this continues, he's going to mention my recent marriage. I try cutting in.

"JanDi, I'll just go talk to the front desk and tell them, okay? Don't get mad at the bell hopper. He's just doing his job." She looks angry, but nods anyways.

"Want me to come with you?"

"No. I can do it myself. Plus, I can see JunPyo and he looks like he's going to go insane if you don't run over there right now." JunPyo is waving his arms furiously trying to get her attention. She smiles, says her goodbyes and runs off.

I fidget while I walk over to the front desk. What were they going to say? I mean, the bell hopper almost blew my cover, and JanDi's already asked about the ring...yikes. This is beginning to become a lot more complicated than it's meant to be.

"Um...the bell hopper told me to stop by...?" The woman at the front desk looks up at me expectantly.

"Oh, Mrs. So! I wanted you to come down so I could give you your new room key, and this also came for you." She hands me a piece of paper and the key.

"Can I ask why you're calling me Mrs. So?"

"It's on your wedding certificate, ma'am." I look at the piece of paper, and nearly scream. There in giant letters is YiJung's and my name.

Well, at least that's one thing I can check off my list.


End file.
